Teaching writing is a challenge for me. I know from my colleagues that I am not alone in feeling helpless when it comes to creating writing assignments that are meaningful and exciting for my students. However, there is a difference between most of me and the rest of my colleagues . . . I've discovered the Web 2.0 tool called Storyjumper.com
Storyjumper.com lets students (and teachers!) create their own books by telling their own stories and illustrating their own pictures. Pictures can be uploaded from their personal collection, from Flckr or by using the art collection in the Storyjumper collection. Students can access their stories from school or home. In addition, stories created online can also be published as a hardcover book for a nominal fee (a great gift idea for parents). Students could create individual books, or a class could work collaboratively to create a book. The possibilities are endless with Storyjumper.com!
I am really excited to use this Web 2.0 in my class, but I am even more excited to share this with teachers who do not currently use technology in their classrooms. Most teachers I know would see the value in a program such as this. Because they will see the value, I think it will be easier to entice them to try it. The directions are very clear, and there are no fees necessary to access every tool this site offers. (Publishing hardcover books is optional.)
The age of the student is not an issue in this program. Stories and illustrations can be as simple or complex as the student makes them. This program certainly provides opportunities for differentiation to meet the needs of every writer in the classroom.
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| Stories, like the one I created, can be written using simple text or complex text. |
Great stuff here! I have chosen to use digital storytelling for my Action Research project. This will be very helpful for that project. This looks like something my students will really enjoy. I love the fact that the age of the student won't matter because the illustrations can be as simple or as complex as the student wants.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that pictures can be personal or use the art collection included in the tool. The students are able to access the content at home or at school which is exciting because the student can share with anyone they want to.
Best of all, it's free. Yeah! Thanks Karen.
Debbie - The "age" issue is what drew me to this site also. Most of the other sites seemed too "young"so I appreciated that students could write as much as they wanted to in a story setting (as opposed to limited to 30 or 50 words). There is a good collection of artwork, I agree! I had fun designing a page or two myself! :) Glad it will help in your project.
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